There exist misconceptions regarding the Jews within Arab societies for various reasons. One prevalent misconception is the belief among many Arabs that Jews lack deep-rooted ties to the Arab world, viewing them instead as an external group imposed upon the region due to the partial European hostility toward Jews. Furthermore, the Egyptian community are often ingratitude as they deny the Jews' significant contributions to the modern renaissance of Egypt. This discourse aims to elucidate the historical roots of Jews in Egyptian society and their impactful role in Egypt's Renaissance. A portion of contemporary history will be dedicated to demonstrating the integration of Jews into the fabric of Egyptian society and the Renaissance they facilitated.

Egyptian Jews

The term "Egyptian Jews" pertains to the Jewish community in Egypt, primarily Arabic-speaking rabbis and Karaites. Although Egypt had its own established Jewish community, the expulsion of Jews from Spain resulted in an influx of Sephardic Jews and Karaites into the country. The Jewish population in Egypt increased considerably following the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, as Jews from various regions of the Ottoman Empire and immigrants from Italy and Greece settled in major Egyptian cities where they thrived. The Ashkenazi Jewish community, which primarily resided in the Darb al-Barbara neighbourhood of Cairo, began to arrive following a series of pogroms in Europe during the late 19th century.

After the 1948 Palestine War, the Lavon Affair of 1954, and the Suez War of 1956, a significant number of Jews (estimated between 75,000 and 80,000 in 1948) and various European communities, including the French and British, emigrated from Egypt, with a substantial portion of their properties being confiscated.

As of 2016, the head of the Cairo Jewish community reported a mere six Jews residing in Cairo, all of whom were women over the age of 65, along with twelve Jews in Alexandria. By 2019, it was known that at least five Jews were living in Cairo, and by 2017, twelve Jews remained in Alexandria. As of December 2022, only three Egyptian Jews were reported to be living in Cairo.

History of Jews in Egypt from 1919 to 1948

Since 1919, during the period of British colonial rule and under King Fuad I, Egypt has generally maintained amicable relations with its Jewish population. Notably, between 86% and 94% of Jews in Egypt, primarily European immigrants, did not possess Egyptian citizenship. The Jewish community contributed significantly to the economy, with their numbers rising to nearly 80,000 due to an influx of Jewish refugees fleeing persecution in Europe. Prominent Jewish families, including the Qattawis, established extensive economic relationships with their non-Jewish counterparts.

The Jewish population in Egypt was distinctly divided into Karaite and Rabbinic communities, where intermarriage was traditionally forbidden. These communities were situated nearby in Cairo, with the Karaite community in Harat al-Yahud (Qara'in) and the Rabbinic community in the adjacent Jewish Quarter. Despite this division, there was a spirit of cooperation, particularly among the younger and more educated generations, who advocated for enhanced relations between the two groups.

Individual Jews played a substantial role in the development of Egyptian nationalism. René Cattawi, a Sephardic leader based in Cairo, was instrumental in the formation of the Young Egyptian Jews Association in 1935, which adopted the slogan: “Egypt is our homeland, and Arabic is our language.” Cattawi was a vocal opponent of political Zionism and presented a memorandum addressing the “Jewish question” to the World Jewish Congress in 1943, contending that Palestine could not accommodate Jewish refugees from Europe. However, various factions of the Zionist movement were also represented within Egypt. The Karaite scholar Murad Farag (1866–1956) exemplified this complexity, being both an Egyptian nationalist and a passionate advocate for Zionism. His poem “My Homeland, Egypt, My Birthplace” illustrates his loyalty to Egypt, while his work Al-Qudsiyyat (Jerusalemica, 1923) articulates the Jewish claim to statehood and serves as one of the most compelling defences of Zionism in Arabic. Additionally, Farag was one of the contributors to the first Egyptian constitution in 1923.

Another notable figure was Yaakov Sanu, a nationalist who advocated for the expulsion of the British. He edited Abu Naddara Ezra, among the first magazines written in the Egyptian dialect, which included satirical commentary targeting the British and the Muhammad Ali dynasty, perceived as their puppets. Additionally, Henri Curiel played a significant role by founding the Egyptian Movement for National Liberation in 1943, which later became integral to the Egyptian Communist Party and facilitated early informal contacts between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel.

In 1934, Saad Malki established the newspaper Al-Shams, which was subsequently shut down by the Egyptian government in May 1948.

In 1937, the Egyptian government abolished the system of capitulations, which had granted foreigners a degree of extraterritoriality. This policy change primarily impacted minorities from Syria, Greece, and Italy, ethnic Armenians, and certain Jews from other nations. The previously enjoyed tax immunity (Egyptianization) provided these foreigners with significant trade advantages. Many European Jews utilized Egyptian banks to transfer funds from Central Europe, particularly those fleeing fascist regimes. Furthermore, a substantial segment of Egypt's Jewish population possessed foreign citizenship, while those who held Egyptian citizenship often maintained substantial ties with European nations.

The intensification of the widely publicized Arab-Jewish conflict in Palestine, especially from 1936 to 1939, alongside the ascent of Nazi Germany, began to negatively influence Jewish relations within Egyptian society, despite the small number of active Zionists among them. The emergence of radical nationalist organizations, such as Young Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood, which were inspired by various models adopted by the Axis powers in Europe, fostered increasing hostility towards Jews. These groups disseminated reports in Egyptian mosques and factories alleging that Jews and the British were desecrating sacred sites in Jerusalem, accompanied by other false claims regarding the deaths of hundreds of Arab women and children.

Much of the anti-Semitic sentiment prevalent in the 1930s and 1940s was exacerbated by the close association of Hitler’s regime in Germany with Arab anti-imperialist factions. A prominent Arab leader, Haj Amin al-Husseini, played a key role in securing Nazi funding that was allocated to the Muslim Brotherhood for the operation of a printing press to distribute extensive anti-Semitic propaganda.

The situation deteriorated in the late 1930s, as noted by George Ben Soussan, who referred to the rise of “Nazism,” “propaganda,” and “Jewish hatred.” In 1939, bombs were discovered in synagogues located in Cairo.

The Jewish quarter of Cairo sustained significant damage during the Cairo massacre of 1945. As the partition of Palestine and the establishment of Israel drew near, animosity towards Egyptian Jews escalated. This hostility was exacerbated by press attacks targeting all foreigners, reflecting the growing ethnic nationalism of that period.

In 1947, the Companies Law introduced quotas mandating the employment of Egyptian citizens in registered companies, stipulating that 75% of employees and 90% of all workers be Egyptian nationals. Given that Jews were frequently regarded as foreigners or stateless individuals, this legislation compelled Jewish and foreign business leaders to restrict their recruitment efforts to members of their communities. Furthermore, the law mandated that more than half of the paid-up capital in joint-stock companies be Egyptian.

On November 24, 1947, Egyptian Prime Minister Nokrashy articulated to the British ambassador that “All Jews are potential Zionists… and in any case all Zionists are Communists.” On the same day, Muhammad Hussein Haykal Pasha, who led the Egyptian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly, remarked that “the lives of a million Jews in the Islamic countries will be endangered by the establishment of a Jewish state.” He further asserted, “If the United Nations decides to partition Palestine to establish a Jewish state… Jewish blood will necessarily be shed elsewhere in the Arab world… thus exposing a million Jews to a certain and grave danger.” Mahmoud Bey Fawzi expressed concerns, stating, “The imposed partition will certainly lead to bloodshed in Palestine and in the rest of the Arab world.”